Georgian citizens are among the foreign nationals whose possible involvement is being investigated in a cryptocurrency investment fraud and money laundering case in Moldova. Eight people have been placed in pre-trial detention, the country’s Prosecutor’s Office has announced.
The case concerns five call centres in Chișinău, where investigators suspect an organised criminal group operated fraudulent investment schemes targeting people in the US and Canada. The authorities have not specified whether any Georgian citizens are among the eight detained.
Police stated that dozens of people, including foreign nationals from Cameroon, India, Israel, Nigeria, Georgia, and Ukraine, were involved in the alleged criminal operation.
According to Moldovan police, 21 searches were conducted on 9 October as part of the investigation. Officers seized money, mobile phones, computers, processors, data storage devices, bank cards, accounting and corporate documents, stamps, and other items relevant to the case.
Investigators also seized devices intended to jam signals and a polygraph allegedly used to test people recruited for criminal activities.
The authorities allege that the group operated fake cryptocurrency trading platforms and presented its members as investment experts. Suspects allegedly provided false or misleading information about potential profits and investment risks, persuading victims to transfer money into fraudulent investment schemes.
Police believe the group was organised hierarchically, with clearly defined roles. Those suspected of involvement allegedly coordinated the call centres, recruited staff, and managed the finances and accounts of companies used in the operation.
Preliminary information cited by police suggests that a single call centre generated approximately $2 million in monthly revenue from the alleged criminal activity.
The authorities are continuing to establish the circumstances of the case, identify everyone involved, and determine the financial damage caused to victims.
The Prosecutor’s Office has also announced that the investigation will be extended to foreign jurisdictions where most of the alleged victims are located, including North America.
OC Media has contacted Georgia’s Interior Ministry and Prosecutor’s Office to ask if they are aware of the case and whether they are cooperating with Moldovan authorities. Authorities had not responded to OC Media’s requests for comment at the time of publication.
Fraudulent call centres in Georgia have previously been the subject of investigations by local and international media. In March 2025, an investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Swedish Television (SVT), and 30 media partners, including Georgian outlets, exposed a Tbilisi-based operation that journalists linked to $35.3 million in alleged fraud affecting more than 6,100 victims worldwide between May 2022 and 2025.
The investigation prompted Georgia’s Prosecutor’s Office to open a criminal case into the operation.